Crusaders RL ended their Engage Super League drought by beating Bradford Bulls for the third time in four matches over the past two seasons.



Both clubs were desperate to end losing runs which saw them ship over 50 points each last weekend, with the Crusaders going down by half a century at Harlequins RL and Bradford hammered under a nine-try mauling at home to Huddersfield Giants.



And there was good incentive for the Bulls to break their losing streak after they lost two of the three Engage Super League games between the teams since the Crusaders joined the top flight.



The last one of those was the May 1 beating at the Murrayfield Magic weekend when the Bulls lost 19-0.



Even without influential scrum-half Jarrod Sammut, who is out for three months with a fractured cheekbone, the Crusaders fancied getting a first-ever double in Engage Super League.



And they got off to a great start as Gareth Thomas finished off a neat movement involving Mark Bryant and Tony Martin to grab the opening score.



It got better for the Welshmen when a sweeping movement inside the Bulls' 22 saw the Crusaders create a two-man overlap that centre Vince Mellars turned into a second try.



It started to look like one-way traffic when second rower Weller Hauraki was put over under the sticks by scrum-half Rhys Hanbury, with full-back Clinton Schifcofske converting all three touchdowns.



Bradford looked ordinary, struggling to complete consecutive sets of six and hardly threatening the home half.



All that changed, though, as the Bulls found their way into the home 25 for the first time in the match and saw centre Chris Nero go over in the corner after being put over by full-back Dave Halley.



And Halley rounded off a neat move to strike under the posts which, with Paul Sykes' conversion, brought the Bulls within eight points of the opposition before a Schifcofske penalty near half-time increased the lead to 20-10.



Big second row Michael Worrincy grabbed Bradford's third try but the Bulls found the 10-point deficit restored when Martin rounded off a good attack down the right.



Halley nearly got Bradford's fourth touchdown when he tried to latch onto a neat kick to the left corner only for home replacement Luke Dyer, who came on for Homas, clear the ball away.



Bradford were dominating towards the hour, and only a desperate hand of Mellars stopped Joe Wardle snatching the try.



A lack of concentration let the Bulls down as the ball went loose on the left with the line at their mercy.



Yet for all that pressure and the near-misses, the Crusaders took one of the few chances they had in the second half to give the Yorkshiremen a mountain to climb as the game reached the final stages.



Crusaders sealed their sixth Engage Super League win of the season when the outstanding Rhys Hanbury put Nick Youngquest in near the posts.



Then it was exhibition time as Lincoln Withers and Martin combined before the Crusaders' hooker plunged over.



Elliot Whitehead's bizarre final try for the Bulls was merely consolation for their hard work in the second period.